defective bumper mold?
 

I recently hit a game bird while travelling out-of-state and it broke one of my fangs and went along for the ride in my grill for 200 miles.
I have had an OEM replacement bumper ordered 5 times and each time it arrived it had a very shallow divot or depression about halfway between the passenger headlight and the Nissan badge right at the top lip of the bumper that is 2-3 inches across which causes a warped reflection.
I finally went to a Nissan dealer and found that 3 of 4 new 370z's on the lot had the same divot. Does anyone know if this is a defect in the mold? I'm guessing there may be quite a few Zs out there that were bought with this anomaly.

Any pics?

Attachment 15308

here it is. the lighting wasn't great, but I think you'll get the idea. I'm just wondering how many other people have this and haven't noticed.

ive actually noticed that myself, hmmm

Looks like a defect from the factory or damage from transport. Dealer fix definite.

I have that on my brand new '10. Was just noticing it today while doing my first hand wax.

Like I said, this is the fifth bumper with this defect that the Nissan dealership bodyshop has received and so far I have refused to accept it. The body shop marked the first couple that they sent back to see if Nissan was just shipping back the same exact bumper but they aren't.
I am going to the dealership tomorrow and discuss with them and see if I can get some answers from them or Nissan. I will let you know what I find out.

First hand job?!!! Outside?!! Nice LOL

I also have this on my 2010. My buddy noticed it the day I brought it home. When I asked my salesman about it, he didn't comment much about it. I've been living with it but if it's a defect, I wonder if Nissan will replace it. This would allow us to get some real paint on the new one:).

hmmm... funny ive noticed that ever since i got my z i thought someone sat on my bumper and dented it lol

what about those of us with 09's that have had our bumper for a long time? I guess we're **** out of luck. If we go to a dealer now, they will probably just blame us or do nothing... unless Nissan actually acknowledges the problem.

in for update!

haha i have this too i thought i did it but guess not

mine does not have that dent. :confused:

and im very sensitive to dents (PDR tech).

Screw this thread! I'm pretty sure I don't have that dent, but I'm going to be staring at my bumper to make sure if it. If I do, I'm going to be really pissed and obsessed over it. Dammit!

this sucks i just washed my car on my lunch break and now im starting to wonder if i have one. Crap mannn. now i have to go look :eekdance:

I have the same problem, I posted awhile back about it. Pisses me off!
http://www.the370z.com/exterior-inte...t-bumpers.html

yup, i've got those dimples too..

Anyone had any luck with the dealer about it?

I was at the dealer this morning to talk to the service department about my oil temps (might as well have been talking to a wall) and walked the lot and looked at their Zs. All but the Nismo appeared to have the same issue. Given that fact I wouldn't hold your breath that they will replace the bumpers as its too easy to point out that 'hey... they're all like that.'

Looked at mine for a few minutes and I didn't see anything. *shrug*

That seems to be the case with most nissan dealers.. My clutch sounds like ****, and my oil temps reach 230 in stop and go traffic... but apparently it is all normal per nissan. I have been to 3 different dealerships! I will never buy another nissan. 135i here I come?

I just went to my dealer and the internet manager there actually owns a 370z as well. I asked him if we could go look at his car first before looking at mine. Sure enough, his chicane yellow Z has a divot right in the same spot. He was kind of pissed I showed him because he never noticed it before (lol). Anyway, I showed him this thread, he printed it out and told me it is definitely a defect if his car, my car, and all these Z's on here have it. He told me to come back tomorrow while he's working and we will BOTH talk to the service department about the divot. Looking good so far!

my main concern though, is what if every bumper they send just has the same dent? He also showed a few sales men the spot and they all said they could see it as well. Sucks because it shows up so well on Monterey blue :(

It was harder to spot on his yellow z

I would call that a "warp(ed)"! Probably cheap plastic, or the plastic is to thin.

I stopped by my dealer today and the salesman I talked to acted like it wasn't a big deal even though I showed 3 of the 4 Zs on their lot also had the same divot. (typical response)
I encourage everyone who has this to call Nissan Consumer affairs at (800) NISSAN-1 (or 800-647-7261). I will be calling them first thing tomorrow morning.
This is my first Nissan and if I don't get satisfaction it will be my last Nissan. I'm not asking for the world. Just what I paid for! It may be a small thing but when one pays 40K one expects some quality.
I do have one thing on my side. I am not paying the body shop for my replacement bumper until I get one that is divot-free. They will just have to keep ordering and ordering until a good one arrives.

:iagree:

I don't see anything either...

Mine has it too. Look at photos on this site and you will see the exact same thing on other Zs. I noticed the "warp" a while back but I didn't think much of it. It's not that noticeable to me. I've seen the same thing on other cars with plastic bumpers like my Firebird.

i looked at my car again, there is no dent there on my car.

if it bothers you consult a PDR tech cause he will be able to heat it and push up on the plastics to get it flat. ive done a few bumpers using my typical PDR tools and a heat gun with success.

but.. why would I have to pay for that if it's a defect?

:P

Yep we have the same thing looks like a dent :/

i think the tab location at the top of the bumper (with hood open) is pulling on the bumper plastic on some of your cars too much causing it to flex upwards at the top of the bumper where the tab is while pulling at the bumper and denting/folding next to the emblem area.... if that makes any sense. lol

Well I went back to the dealer today. The service manager said it definitely looks like a defect. Problem is, like mst of the 09s out there, I'm out of my 1 year paint/body warranty (over by 1,000 miles and like a month and a half). I was told to call nissan consumer affairs, so I did. They are going to call the dealer who is on my side for this one. I should get a call back tomorrow they said. Ill keep everyone updated.

sounds good! although if it was my car i would fix it myself. i dont want to deal with non-factory paint (not matching), bodyshop induced overspray on rest of the car, swirls, idiots driving like a maniac in their lot, etc.

Well I can't fix it myself.... That wasn't a very constructive post kenchan.

just reality. :D

i have an apt. monday for the dealer to look at the Z.

Cool! Hopefully it goes well. Nissan called me back and said it should be covered, but needs to talk to the dealer first. Will call back monday if I don't get a call back before.

Ok update on our Z guys. We took it to two dealerships and the service department noticed the same thing on our car along with all there Z's on the lot. They are having a Supervisor coming out to look at it and decide whats next. Both sides are doing it now. At first the service guy said it must be pulling or something and i said no its not, there is now play at all in the bumber.

damnit... was at a car show over the weekend and I just noticed this too.. :( thanks a lot redrider..

update

consumer affairs called me back and let me know that the service manager at the dealer (I spoke with the assistant service manager, who said it's clearly a defect and he will vouge for that), told them "he is not sure if it involves impact or it is a defect". Are you f*#$#ing kidding? What could I hit to do that? And what are the odds of the other manager's Z and EVERY other Z on the lot and ALL the Z's in this thread (which I showed the internet manger initially before I showed it on his car) hitting the same thing to dent the same spot? 1 in a 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000?

Anyways, Consumer affairs called Jose back and actually spoke to him just now. Hopefully he holds up to his word. Nissan said that if the dealer still is a bitch about it, they may just do it on good will, and do a 3-way call with them with me on the phone.

Will update soon.